McGee Brothers
Encyclopedia
The McGee Brothers were an American old-time
performing duo consisting of brothers Sam McGee (b. Samuel Fleming McGee, May 1, 1894, d. August 21, 1975) and Kirk McGee (b. David Kirkland McGee, November 4, 1899, d. October 24, 1983). Sam typically played guitar and Kirk usually played banjo or fiddle, although they were both proficient in multiple string instruments. The McGee Brothers were one of the most enduring acts on the Grand Ole Opry
during the show's first fifty years. They made their initial appearance on the Opry in 1926 and the following year joined Uncle Dave Macon's
band, the Fruit Jar Drinkers. In the 1930s, the McGees teamed up with early Opry fiddler Arthur Smith to form a string band known as the "Dixieliners," and in the 1940s they played and toured with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys
and several other notable acts. The McGee Brothers saw a brief resurgence during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s, when folk artist Mike Seeger
managed to reunite them with Arthur Smith. The brothers made their last major appearance as a duo on the Opry in 1974, although Kirk continued to appear regularly on the program until his death in 1983.
, a town located just south of Nashville
. Their father was a noted fiddler, and both Sam and Kirk learned to play banjo at a young age. As a teenager, Sam picked up slide-guitar and other blues
techniques from African-American railroad workers and street musicians in his native Williamson County
, and he and Kirk subsequently adapted blues and ragtime
styles to the string band
format.
Around 1923, Sam and Kirk met Uncle Dave Macon, who had recently gained regional fame as a banjoist and vaudeville
performer. In 1926, Sam and Macon appeared together on the WSM Barn Dance (which later became the Grand Ole Opry) and recorded several sides, including Sam's guitar solos, "Buck Dancer's Choice" and "Knoxville Blues." Shortly afterward, a recording scout suggested Macon form a larger band, and Sam, Kirk, guitarist Hubert Gregory, and bassist Golden Stewart joined with Macon as "Uncle Dave Macon and the Fruit Jar Drinkers" (Macon chose the name "Fruit Jar Drinkers", ignoring the fact that another band was already using a similar name
). The band made several Opry appearances, and travelled to New York to record several tracks, including "I'm Goin' Away in the Morn" and "Bake That Chicken Pie" (by the time it recorded, the band's line-up had shifted to include Macon's neighbor, fiddler Mazy Todd). At the same sessions, the McGees recorded several tracks as a duo, including "Old Master's Runaway," which was based on the American Civil War
folk song, "Year of Jubilo
." Sam also recorded "Chevrolet Car", which he had learned from a mechanic in Nashville, and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the Chevrolet Corporation
. On "Chevrolet Car" and on several tracks recorded with Macon in the late 1920s, Sam played a banjo-guitar, providing rare early instances of this instrument being played effectively.
, who told him the electric guitar was not "down to Earth." The Dixieliners disbanded in 1938.
In the 1940s, the McGee Brothers performed with some of the biggest names in country
and bluegrass
, among them Roy Acuff
, Ernest Tubb
, and Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. They also continued making appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, sometimes accompanying their old bandmate, Uncle Dave Macon. Early in the decade, they worked briefly with the comedy act, Sara and Sally.
managed to reunite them with Arthur Smith in 1957, and the trio made several recordings. The trio played at various folk music festivals throughout the 1960s, including a well-received performance at the Newport Folk Festival
in 1965. By the 1970s, the McGees were again playing primarily as a duo. They performed at the Opry's last Ryman Auditorium
show on March 15, 1974, and as the Opry's senior members, were among the first acts to play at the show's new Opryland
venue the following Saturday night. Journalist Garrison Keillor
, covering the Opry's move for the New Yorker
, described the McGee Brothers' performance thus:
On August 28, 1975, Sam was killed in a tractor accident on the family farm in Williamson County. After Sam's death, Kirk continued performing, mostly as a regular fiddler on the Opry. He died of a heart attack on October 24, 1983, a few days after his last appearance on the program.
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
performing duo consisting of brothers Sam McGee (b. Samuel Fleming McGee, May 1, 1894, d. August 21, 1975) and Kirk McGee (b. David Kirkland McGee, November 4, 1899, d. October 24, 1983). Sam typically played guitar and Kirk usually played banjo or fiddle, although they were both proficient in multiple string instruments. The McGee Brothers were one of the most enduring acts on the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
during the show's first fifty years. They made their initial appearance on the Opry in 1926 and the following year joined Uncle Dave Macon's
Uncle Dave Macon
Uncle Dave Macon , born David Harrison Macon—also known as "The Dixie Dewdrop"—was an American banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian...
band, the Fruit Jar Drinkers. In the 1930s, the McGees teamed up with early Opry fiddler Arthur Smith to form a string band known as the "Dixieliners," and in the 1940s they played and toured with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
and several other notable acts. The McGee Brothers saw a brief resurgence during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s, when folk artist Mike Seeger
Mike Seeger
Mike Seeger was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, and pan pipes. Seeger, a half-brother of Pete Seeger, produced more than 30 documentary...
managed to reunite them with Arthur Smith. The brothers made their last major appearance as a duo on the Opry in 1974, although Kirk continued to appear regularly on the program until his death in 1983.
Early career
Sam and Kirk McGee were born and raised in Franklin, TennesseeFranklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
, a town located just south of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Their father was a noted fiddler, and both Sam and Kirk learned to play banjo at a young age. As a teenager, Sam picked up slide-guitar and other blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
techniques from African-American railroad workers and street musicians in his native Williamson County
Williamson County, Tennessee
Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010 US Census, the population was 183,182. The County's seat is Franklin, and it is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named after Hugh Williamson, a...
, and he and Kirk subsequently adapted blues and ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
styles to the string band
String band
A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass.-String bands in old-time music:...
format.
Around 1923, Sam and Kirk met Uncle Dave Macon, who had recently gained regional fame as a banjoist and vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer. In 1926, Sam and Macon appeared together on the WSM Barn Dance (which later became the Grand Ole Opry) and recorded several sides, including Sam's guitar solos, "Buck Dancer's Choice" and "Knoxville Blues." Shortly afterward, a recording scout suggested Macon form a larger band, and Sam, Kirk, guitarist Hubert Gregory, and bassist Golden Stewart joined with Macon as "Uncle Dave Macon and the Fruit Jar Drinkers" (Macon chose the name "Fruit Jar Drinkers", ignoring the fact that another band was already using a similar name
Fruit Jar Guzzlers
-Biography:Fruit Jar Guzzlers is one of the most mysterious old-time groups to ever record. In 1928, another old-time musician Cleve Chaffin from Wayne County, West Virginia had supposedly recorded a session with two men named Stevens and Bolar for Paramount Records as Fruit Jar Guzzlers. The...
). The band made several Opry appearances, and travelled to New York to record several tracks, including "I'm Goin' Away in the Morn" and "Bake That Chicken Pie" (by the time it recorded, the band's line-up had shifted to include Macon's neighbor, fiddler Mazy Todd). At the same sessions, the McGees recorded several tracks as a duo, including "Old Master's Runaway," which was based on the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
folk song, "Year of Jubilo
Kingdom Coming
"Kingdom Coming" or "The Year of Jubilo" is a American Civil War song, written and composed by Henry C. Work in 1862, prior to the Emancipation Proclamation....
." Sam also recorded "Chevrolet Car", which he had learned from a mechanic in Nashville, and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the Chevrolet Corporation
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
. On "Chevrolet Car" and on several tracks recorded with Macon in the late 1920s, Sam played a banjo-guitar, providing rare early instances of this instrument being played effectively.
1930s and 1940s
While the McGee Brothers continued performing with Macon over the years, by 1930 their main focus had turned to performing as a duo and with fellow Opry pioneer "Fiddlin'" Arthur Smith. In 1931, the McGees and Smith formed the "Dixieliners," a string band named after the railroad where Smith worked. The group toured and made numerous appearances on the Opry, but didn't make any recordings until their reunion two decades later (Smith's "Dixieliner" recordings from the 1930s were accompanied by the Delmore Brothers, rather than the McGees). Sam and Kirk made several recordings during the 1930s as a duo, however, most notably "Brown's Ferry Blues," which they recorded in 1934. Sam also claimed to have been the first performer to play an electric guitar on the Opry, for which he was chided by Opry founder George D. HayGeorge D. Hay
George Dewey Hay was an American radio personality. He was the founder of the original Grand Ole Opry radio program on WSM-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, from which the country music stage show of the same name evolved....
, who told him the electric guitar was not "down to Earth." The Dixieliners disbanded in 1938.
In the 1940s, the McGee Brothers performed with some of the biggest names in country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, among them Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
, Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
, and Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. They also continued making appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, sometimes accompanying their old bandmate, Uncle Dave Macon. Early in the decade, they worked briefly with the comedy act, Sara and Sally.
Later career
The McGee Brothers continued performing throughout the 1950s, both as a duo and occasionally as solo acts. During the folk revival of the late 1950s, the McGees were "rediscovered", and experienced a brief resurgence in popularity. Folk song enthusiast Mike SeegerMike Seeger
Mike Seeger was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, and pan pipes. Seeger, a half-brother of Pete Seeger, produced more than 30 documentary...
managed to reunite them with Arthur Smith in 1957, and the trio made several recordings. The trio played at various folk music festivals throughout the 1960s, including a well-received performance at the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
in 1965. By the 1970s, the McGees were again playing primarily as a duo. They performed at the Opry's last Ryman Auditorium
Ryman Auditorium
The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
show on March 15, 1974, and as the Opry's senior members, were among the first acts to play at the show's new Opryland
Opryland USA
Opryland USA was an amusement park located in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 until 1997...
venue the following Saturday night. Journalist Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
, covering the Opry's move for the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, described the McGee Brothers' performance thus:
It was the acoustic moment of the show, when the skies cleared and the weeping steels were silent and out of the clear blue came a little ole guitar duet. Stunning and simple, and so good after all the sound I'd hear that week...
On August 28, 1975, Sam was killed in a tractor accident on the family farm in Williamson County. After Sam's death, Kirk continued performing, mostly as a regular fiddler on the Opry. He died of a heart attack on October 24, 1983, a few days after his last appearance on the program.
Discography
- Nashville - The Early String Bands, Vol. 1 (CountyCounty RecordsCounty Records also expanded into the bluegrass music genre, although Freeman preferred those artists who stayed the closest to their old-time roots. The label's first bluegrass release was 1965's Blue Ridge Bluegrass featuring Larry Richardson and the Blue Ridge Boys.-Related businesses:Freeman...
, 2000) — contains the tracks "Salt Lake City Blues", "Chevrolet Car", and "Charming Bill" - Nashville - The Early String Bands, Vol. 2 (CountyCounty RecordsCounty Records also expanded into the bluegrass music genre, although Freeman preferred those artists who stayed the closest to their old-time roots. The label's first bluegrass release was 1965's Blue Ridge Bluegrass featuring Larry Richardson and the Blue Ridge Boys.-Related businesses:Freeman...
, 2000) — contains the tracks "Old Master's Runaway" and "Brown's Ferry Blues"
External links
- Grand Ole Opry — Timeline
- Juneberry78s.com Sampler — contains mp3 recordings of "Charming Bill" and "Salty Dog Blues"
- Smithsonian Global Sound — contains samples from the McGees' 1957 recordings with Arthur Smith
- Brad Sondahl's tribute to Sam and Kirk McGee contains expanded discography and biographical data